This invention relates to interactive wagering, and more particularly, to interactive wagering arrangements that use electronic books.
Wagering is a popular leisure activity. For example, many racing fans wager on events such as horse, dog, and harness racing. However, it may be inconvenient to attend racing events in person. Not all racing fans have sufficient time to visit racetracks as often as they would like and some fans have difficulties in obtaining suitable transportation to the track. Off-track betting establishments are available for fans who cannot attend racing events in person, but fans must still travel to the off-track betting establishments.
As a result, systems have been developed in which fans may place off-track wagers using personal computers connected to the Internet, standard telephones, or set-top boxes.
It is an object of the present invention to improve such systems by providing an interactive wagering system that allows users to access racing information or to place wagers using an electronic book or other suitable platform.
An interactive wagering system is provided in which users may download electronic racing forms to electronic books. The electronic books may have covers made of leather or other protective materials. Each electronic book may have a display that is approximately the size of a letter-sized pad of paper. The display may be a back-lit monochrome or color display. The electronic book may have buttons such as page up and page down buttons or the like that allow users to navigate through the material presented on the electronic book.
The content of the racing form may be directed toward horse racing. The form may be an electronic replica of a printed form. If desired, the racing form may be interactive. When a user selects an item from a racing form displayed on the electronic book, the user may be presented with additional information or interactive screens that provide racing-related services such as interactive wagering opportunities. For example, when the user selects a jockey name, the user may be provided with more information about that jockey. When the user selects a racetrack name, the user may be provided with an opportunity to create an electronic wager for a race at the selected racetrack.
The interactive wagering system may have a transaction processing and subscription management system for handling wagers. Racing forms may be downloaded from the transaction processing and subscription management system or may be downloaded from electronic book servers or the like.
There may occasionally be a change in the information that is presented in the racing form. For example, a horse may scratch or there may be other changes. These changes may be provided to the user of the electronic book. In particular, updates to the racing data that is provided to the electronic book (e.g., for use with the racing form) may be provided. Updates may be provided on request by the user, at predetermined time intervals, at user-selected time intervals, etc.
News flashes and other real-time information and reports may be provided to the electronic book. Such reports may be based on the user""s preferences and the user""s monitored interests. For example, if the user has previously expressed a desire to receive news on a particular horse, the interactive wagering system may provide a real-time report to the user when that horse is in the news. If the user often wagers at a particular racetrack, the system may monitor this information to determine the user""s interest in the track. Real-time reports or news may then be targeted to the user based on the user""s monitored interests.
The racing form may include racing data, articles, and advertisements.